Sunday Showcase

I posted a pic a few days ago of this cute stuffed bear that we were working on for our Etsy shop and here is a finished version that is now available for sale.

He is really adorable! Here are some other things for sale at our site.

Crocheted Beret

Mother and Daughter Apron Set

Child's Apron





Vintage Catalogs and Fashion

You can look through an entire Sears catalog from 1934 here, but here are a few highlights.

I would love so much to be able to go back in time and shop for this stuff. My mom and I try to find material that has a vintage look to it when making aprons for our shop and finding these old catalogs helps us to know what to look for in colors and prints.

Look at these dresses, they are so pretty! Our Etsy shop is a side business but I do have a regular full time job (data analyst) and I wear dresses and heels every day. I'd love to have some of these.

 

These slips are beautiful too. I've seen lots of these at vintage clothes store and the material is still so soft and silky. Peach is one of my favorite colors and that was a very popular color for undergarments in the 1920s and 1930s.

We'll need a good way to organize and keep all of our vintage clothes so why not (go back in time) and try this from the 1944 Sears Christmas Catalog found here.



 

 

 



1920s Ladies Jackets and One Big Fashion Faux Pas

 

I found the pictures of these beautiful jackets here in a crochet book from Corticelli dated 1922. Many of these are called tuxedo jackets or tuxedo blouses in the book. I think they are called that because of the collar they have that mimics the collar and lapel of a tuxedo as the patterns call it a tuxedo collar.

I think the ladies modeling these lovely items went a little heavy on the blush - ha! You can see the tuxedo style collar more clearly in this jacket from the same book.





I haven't tried to make any of the sweaters or jackets from these old booklets yet because it can be difficult to determine what type of yarn or what size hook/needles to use as the naming and numbering have changed. The terminology can be different as well.

 

Here is a yarn conversion chart that I found to be helpful. For now though I am mostly sticking with making scarves or wraps from these really old patterns as they are less complicated and easier to replicate. I am making things to sell so quick turnaround is important for me however, if you have time, it would be a fun project to try and make one of these. 

 

I know styles change, I mean I can look back at a picture of myself from 10 or 15 years ago and wonder why I thought something looked good at the time, but I can't imagine that the sweater from 1917 on the right in the picture below was ever in fashion. The poor guy wearing it is clearly in agreement with me. He's perfectly happy with the sweater on the left and then somebody put that abomination on him and he turned sour fast! Hopefully he at least got a decent paycheck for having to wear that thing.

 

 

 

 

 



A New Teddy Bear Friend

We recently picked up a pattern to make some stuffed animals (bear, bunny, fox, and wolf) and my mom just got done making the first one (the bear) and it turned out even more adorable than I had hoped.


I named him Humphrey.

How cute is that tail?! Then look at his little feet - it's cuteness overload!!!



This one was just a test (his left eye isn't place quite right) so he's mine but we will make a bunch more and have them for sale at our shop. These are going to make such precious gifts for the little ones in your life (or the big ones who are still kids at heart-like me!). Also the eyes and nose are made from safety buttons so they will not easily come off as they are anchored on the inside.

1920s and 1930s Outerwear and My Favorite Flapper

I know it's hot outside and the last thing people are thinking about right now are winter coats but, when you're running a shop, you have to be prepared ahead of time for each season. Before we know it, the weather will begin to turn cold and the coats will come out from the back of the closet.

The 1920s and 1930s are my favorite decades for fashion and I especially love the winter wear. Look at these beautiful 1930s coats (and hats!).

Fur lined collars were very popular during those years but I think this woman is taking it to extremes!



These coats below look like they are from the early to mid-1930s and I love seeing them in color. In the 1920s many dresses and coats had a somewhat straight line shape to them but in the 1930s style changes to be more feminine and figure hugging as you can see in the items below.  

I let out an audible gasp when I came across this pattern in Joanns. It's a reproduction of a pattern from 1927 and it's gorgeous! It has options for a removeable cape and a fur lined or plain collar.

1927 is one of my favorite years for many reasons. My grandpa was born that year, it's the year the first feature length talking picture debuted (The Jazz Singer), and it was also a big year for my favorite actress Clara Bow.

 

Clara was the quintessential flapper and in 1927 she had two big hit films with "Wings" and "It". It (1927) tells the story of a girl working in a department store who falls for the owner's son and after a bit of trouble and misunderstanding, she finds her happy ending. It's basically Cinderella for the flappers. It's a silent movie but don't let that put you off; it's a wonderful, fun film and Clara is so vivacious and alive she practically leaps off the screen and you won't even notice you can't hear them speaking.

 

You can watch the film here: 

This hat is so cute and I'd love to try and recreate it. The pic is from Clara's film Rough House Rosie (1928). It looks like a beret with a scarf attached to it along the brim.

We'll make a test coat from the pattern shown above first, and if it comes out well, we'll have them for sale at our Etsy shop later in the year. I have seen some beautiful faux fur at Joann's so we may be able to have that option as well. I love testing out new patterns because I get to keep the test version. If I can recreate Clara's hat, we'll have those available too!

Vintage Crochet Pattern - Garden Party Hat (1935)

I think this would make a lovely hat for summer as the large brim will keep the sun off your face. It's a pattern from 1935 and can be found here.



The woman in the picture modeling the hat looks an awful lot like classic movie actress Mary Astor, don't you think?

 

Size 22 (I would guess this means it will fit a 22" head size which is fairly average)

 

Materials: Clark's O.N.T. Mercerized Crochet 8 balls, size 5, White or J. & P. Coats Mercerized Crochet, 6 balls. Milward's steel crochet hook No. 5 and No. 3. 2½ yards millinery wire.

 

Crown: With No. 5 hook, ch 3.

1st rnd: 6 s c in 2nd ch.

2nd rnd: 2 s c in each st of previous rnd.

3rd rnd: * 2 s c in next st, 1 s c in next st. Repeat from * around. Continue with s c, making 6 increases every rnd, equally spaced. Do not make increases over increases of previous rnd. Work until crown measures 5¼ inches in diameter then work a rnd without increasing.

Next rnd: Increase 5 times, evenly spaced. Then work one rnd without increasing, and increase 4 times in the next rnd. Continue without increasing until crown measures 3¼ inches from 1st rnd to edge. From now on the hat is made with d c (except over wires), and each row is joined with sl st, and turn.

 

Change to No. 3 hook and work loosely. Work * 1 row d c without increase, join, ch 3, turn. Repeat from * until crown measures 6 inches from 1st rnd to edge. Change to No. 5 hook. Work 2 rows of s c in each st, join with sl st, ch 1, turn. Holding inside of hat toward you, work 1 s c in each of 2 sts, and 2 s c in next. Join with sl st. Change to No. 3 hook, ch 3, turn, d c in each st, join, ch 3, turn. D c in each of 9 sts, 2 d c in next, for one row. Work 2 rows without increasing and in next row increase in every 15th st. Work a row of s c over wire, being careful not to bend wire more than necessary. Fasten wire neatly together, join the row with sl st, ch 3, turn. D c in each st, increasing in every 25th st, join, ch 3, turn. In next row increase 20 times, but do not have increases come over those of previous row. Join, ch 3, turn. Then make a row with increases 30 times. Make another row of s c over wire. In next row of d c, increase in every 5th st. Work a row of d c without increasing, and finish with a row of sl sts. Fasten off.

 

Cord: With thread double, ch 6. D c in 4th st from hook, d c in each of next 2 sts, * ch 6, turn. D c in 3rd st of turning ch of previous row, ch 6, turn. D c in 3rd st of turning ch, ch 3, turn. 2 d c under the ch 6, d c in 3rd st of turning ch of previous row. Repeat from * until piece is long enough to fold over and over loosely around crown of hat. (Make the cord slightly more than twice the crown measurement.) Sew in place as shown in illustration.

Hats, Hats, and More Hats

I have loved hats since I was a kid and I still wear them every chance I get. Hats are a fun way to add a little more style to an outfit. Lightweight hats made of materials like cotton or straw are good for warmer days, and in the cold days of winter, wool or felt hats are especially good at helping to keep your warm. I have short hair so I never leave the house on a cold day without a hat. Here are some of my hats.

I made the one on the Styrofoam head. I'm going to make some using that same pattern for sale at my Etsy shop. It's a cute cloche flapper style hat. I'm going to add some handmade flowers to the ones I'm going to sell.

I think I'm going to use this lovely Autumn colored yarn and make one up right now!

I also have a few vintage hats from the 1930s and 1940s. Here's one from the 1940s that I bought to wear to my friend's annual tea party. My friend Miss Piggy stopped by again and agreed to model it for me.



I think it looks better on her than it does on me - ha!

I found a cute pattern for a variety of hats that have a 1920s and 1930s look to them. My mom who does all the sewing has the material cut out for hat E (the red one on the bottom) and I can't wait to see how it looks. We are using red fleece with off white piping and buttons. I'm going to keep the first one and if it comes out well, we will also sell these. Fleece is so warm and soft and it should make a comfortable hat.

These girls sure look happy and stylish in their chapeaus!



Classic Movie Knitting

There is a lot of down time on film sets and actors and actresses often take up hobbies to stave off boredom. Before smart phones, knitting was very popular during the classic movie era.


Audrey Hepburn

Ginger Rogers

Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh

Gary Cooper is my favorite actor and I have a site dedicated just to him (Gary Cooper Collection) so I have a lot of pictures from his movies.

Here's one of Gary and Barbara Stanwyck on the set of their film Meet John Doe (1941). This is just a silly pic as that is Barbara's knitting. I think she's telling him 'You better not mess that up big boy!'. I like the knitting bag she has (on the floor in between them).

Here's Gary this time helping Bette Davis who came by the set of Sergeant York (1941) for a visit. I hope the ashes from his cigarette didn't fall off and set the yarn on fire - ha! It looks like Bette may be knitting a sock.





The lovely Greer Garson also enjoyed knitting.

Knitting (and crocheting) is a wonderful hobby and such a fun way to relax in the evening after a stressful day. I love to sit down in front of the TV in my comfy chair and just work away on something. 





Sunday Showcase

I wanted to take this time to showcase some of the items available at my Etsy shop - Stylin' Stitches Shop.


Half Apron with One Pocket - This apron was made using a pattern from the 1940s. I love the print with the vintage style kitchen gadgets. It's so cute and I think it made a really fun apron.

Full Apron with One Pocket - This apron was made using a pattern with styles from the 1940s & 1950s. This one kind of looks like a sundress and the ruffle along the bottom adds a touch of fun and whimsy. 

Mother & Daughter Full Apron Set with Two Pockets - This set was made in a cute honey bee print and was featured in an earlier post while it was still being made.